Position determining systems typically provide geographic position information such as latitude, longitude, and altitude. Unfortunately, for many non-navigational applications, this geographic information is not, by itself, of interest to a user. For example, a passenger in an automobile would probably have little use for knowledge of his or her current latitude, longitude, and altitude. Rather than being provided with geographic position information in terms of latitude, longitude, and altitude, a user often may prefer that additional information be made available.
In an attempt to deliver geographic position information in a more "user-friendly" manner, some position determining systems include in-vehicle navigation systems. The in-vehicle navigation system converts the geographic position information of the vehicle to a more familiar format such as, for example, a street address or a distance to a desired destination.
Although the use of an in-vehicle navigation system provides an added degree of "user-friendliness", many users still find such geographic position information to be of little interest.
Consequently, the need has arisen for a system which uses geographic position information to provide a variety of non-navigational functions which are useful and interesting to ordinary consumers.